Jewish Tzedakah

Using your common cents.

Jewish communal institutions address the problems of the poor, but individual efforts still make a crucial difference to many in need.

Rabbinic commentators interpreted the law of leaving the corners of one's field for those in need in light of their own concerns about the poor.

The rabbinic sages taught that humans should emulate God by meeting the particular needs of people in trouble. But how should one go about that today?

Jewish texts on social justice describe the tension between providing what is needed and providing what is affordable.

Making decisions about tzedakah in the context of a group can be a powerful force in both deepening our spiritual lives and building community.

"Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime." How many fish do we buy, and how many nets?

Jeff Spitzer mines Maimonides' 8 levels of Tzedakah for guidance on contemporary issues in tzedakah.

Do we respond immediately to a claim of dire need, or perform

The Rabbis regulated the giving and receiving of tzedakah even while recognizing that how one gives may be as important as how much one gives.